International WOW Festival comes to the North East
For the first time ever, the WOW - Women of the World Festival is landing in the North East 17 - 18 October 2025, in partnership with S&DR200 and marking 200 years since the first journey on the Stockton & Darlington Railway. This exciting festival will honour the past, celebrate the present, and shape a more equal future.
Join us for a weekend packed with talks, performances, workshops, and joyful moments that spotlight the incredible women, girls and non-binary people of the North East.
There will be two exciting and special ticketed evenings events at Gala Durham as part of the WOW Festival programme, including:
Keeping Sane(ish) with Athena Kugblenu & Jordan Gray
Friday 17 October, 7pm
Comedians Athena Kugblenu and Jordan Gray join WOW Founder Director Jude Kelly CBE for an evening of sharp wit, outrageous stories, and chaotic fun. Together they'll tackle the everyday madness of modern life: the strife, the silliness, and the surprising moments of joy that keep us going.
You can buy your tickets to Keeping Sane(ish) here.
An Evening with Ashley James
Saturday 18 October, 7pm
Join broadcaster, DJ and outspoken feminist Ashley James for a powerful and personal conversation exploring what it means to be a woman in today's world. In this intimate session, Ashley will open up about the pressures modern women face, from the contradictions of motherhood and identity to how social media has shaped her journey.
You can buy your tickets for An Evening with Ashley James here.
All main auditorium sessions at Gala Durham will be BSL interpreted and live captioned.
WOW Festival Day
Saturday 18 October
A free, all-day festival open to everyone, with talks, performances, workshops, family fun and more! We'll travel back 200 years to spotlight women's roles in the birth of the railway and look ahead to the future of tech and innovation in a dynamic panel on women in STEM. Because when it comes to building what's next in technological advancement, locally and globally, we'll discuss how we can make women and girls the centre of the conversation. Not just in the North East region, but right around the world.
Headline speakers: Former Lioness Jill Scott, WOW Founder Jude Kelly, writer Emma Dabiri, presenter and activist Ashley James
Workshops: Mindfulness painting, floral art, hula hooping, Bollywood dance, plus workshops from The Consent Collective and Urban Kaos
Panels & Talks: Politics, pop culture, activism, art, and women in tech
Performances: Theatre, poetry pop-ups with S&DR200 Resident Poet Lizzie Lovejoy, mass sing-alongs, plus a closing performance by the North East's very own magnetic singer songwriter Amelia Coburn.
Women in STEM
10-10.45am, Auditorium
Opening Session
Join WOW Founder, Jude Kelly CBE as she opens the festival with special guests, celebrating the North East in all its glory from the proud history of the railways to the stories of local people driving things forward. It's about where we've come from, where we're going, and everything that makes this place special.
Speakers include: WOW Founder Jude Kelly CBE; Girls, Theys and Slays Choir; Dame Irene Hays; S&DR200 Festival Director Niccy Halifax
10.50-11.50pm, Gallery
Dusty Deste photo exhibition curated by Sophie Piper
Join Sophie to find out about her research into the hidden visual histories of women's work in Sunderland and the importance of Dusty Deste's contribution. The session will explore the concept behind the pop-up exhibition, using editing and sequencing activities. It will conclude with an overview of how Deste's photographs will be used in a co-creation project with former female employees at Pyrex to create an inclusive catalogue of her work in the Historic England Archive.
The exhibition will be on display all day.
Led by: Sophie Piper
11-12pm, Cinema 2
WOW Bites
Hear from the people making change and offering inspiration right here in our local communities. WOW Bites are short talks and stories, and sometimes soapbox moments, on a very wide range of subjects from the serious to the more zany. Some delivered by well-known local organisers, poets and activists and some you'll never have heard of but have amazing stories about the things that matter the most.
Speakers include: Kelly Ensbury and Amy Walton from Urban Kaos; Laura Connolly from Clogbeatz; photographer Joanne Coates; cultural activist and campaigner Julie Ward; author of Women of the Durham Coalfield Margaret Hedley; Founder of Taste of Africa Sade Sangowawa; Managing Director of EQ Advantage Julie Martin
11-12pm, Café
Climate Café for those who've Weathered Storms!
You've seen the seasons change - now let's talk about the climate.
Join a circle of wise, warm-hearted people for tea, talk, and inter-generational togetherness. At this Climate Café, there's space to share your hopes, fears, and stories about the world we're leaving behind - and the one we still have the power to shape.
Led by: cultural activist and campaigner Julie Ward
12-1pm, Auditorium
WOW Big Ideas
Come and hear some of the world's most compelling speakers talk about the things they care about most. From Getrude Bell to alternative forms of justice for survivors - you're sure to be challenged, inspired and more!
Speakers include: Dr Nina Burrowes; Dr Kate Craddock, Teissy Easton, Dr Lucy Reynolds and Freya Salway
12.15-1.15pm, Cinema 2
Women in STEM: What's Still Holding Us Back?
From missing toilets on site to missing out on promotions, women and non- binary people in STEM still face barriers that push too many out of the industry. This session shines a light on the everyday frustrations and bigger systemic problems and asks how we can fix them. Hear from the experts at the fore of the industry as they share sharp insights, honest stories, and bold ideas for making science, tech, engineering and maths a place where women don't just get in, they stay and thrive.
Speakers Include: MP for Newcastle Upon Tyne Central and West Chi Onwurah, Major Projects Director at AECOM and Co-Chair of Women in Rail Yorkshire Isobel Crockford
12-1pm & 2.30-3.30pm, Millennium Square
Durham City Tours - Unearthing Women's Histories
Step into Durham's streets and discover the hidden stories of its women. From rebel suffragists to everyday trailblazers, these walking tours shine a light on the women who shaped the city but were left out of the history books. Join us to unearth untold tales, reclaim forgotten spaces, and see Durham through a fresh, feminist lens.
Led by: The Story, Durham
2-4pm, Millennium Square
SAWDUST!
Grab a rubber mallet and join SAWDUST outside the Gala to hammer, slot, and assemble your own beautiful flatpack furniture, creating pop up community seating that everyone can enjoy. Fun, hands-on, and interactive, learn a new skill and help build spots for friends and passer sby to gather, connect, and make the outdoors a little more welcoming!
Motherboard screening at ARC Stockton Arts Centre
Saturday 18 October, 7.15pm
As part of October's WOW North East Festival at Gala Durham and across the region, WOW - Women of the World and ARC present a special screening of Motherboard, the latest work from BAFTA-winning filmmaker Victoria Mapplebeck.
Both inventive and deeply personal, Motherboard is a beautiful portrait of motherhood, exploring its joys, challenges, and contradictions while also interrogating the ways technology shapes memory and family life.
Visit the ARC website to find out more and book your ticket.
Why WOW Matters
WOW is more than a festival - it's a movement. With over 150 festivals in 71 locations worldwide, WOW champions gender equality through storytelling, creativity, and community. This year, the North East joins the global conversation.
Niccy Hallifax, Festival Director at S&DR200 says: "WOW NE - Women of the World Festivals are all about celebrating talent, challenges solved positively and creatively, and all of us being equal. But, having WOW here in the northeast is something special. When we first embarked on the story of S&DR200 it became evident so many of the stories of women and the role they played had been lost in this amazing transformation of society and STEM, so we vowed to try to bring these stories out. It's important that in these celebrations we shine a light on the incredible people within our communities no matter their gender, and that we highlight everyone in our communities.
Ultimately the upcoming WOW Festival and for the months to come will showcase voices that deserve to be heard far and wide, and look to the future in a positive manner. I'm so pleased that the northeast is not just hosting this event but putting the northeast firmly on the map as a place where talent, STEM industries thrive."
Whether you're here to listen, learn, connect, or take action, WOW is for everyone, so join us at WOW North East as we make history, honour the past, and shape an equal future together.
To find out more about the WOW Festival please visit the WOW website.
Presented by:
S&DR200 and WOW - Women of the World, with support from Darlington Borough Council, Durham County Council, Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council, North East Combined Authority
